Oral Oncology
Volume 39, Issue 5 , Pages 436-444, July 2003

A non-invasive technique for studying oral epithelial Epstein–Barr virus infection and disease☆

  • Dennis M. Walling

      Affiliations

    • Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0435, USA
    • Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 301 University Boulevard, Galveston, TX 77555-0435, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1-409-747-2361; fax: +1-409-772-6527
    • ,
  • Catherine M. Flaitz

      Affiliations

    • Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Dental Branch, PO Box 20068, 6516 MD Anderson Boulevard, Houston, TX 77225-0068, USA
    • ,
  • Karen Adler-Storthz

      Affiliations

    • Department of Basic Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Dental Branch, PO Box 20068, 6516 MD Anderson Boulevard, Houston, TX 77225-0068, USA
    • ,
  • C.Mark Nichols

      Affiliations

    • Bering-Omega Dental Clinic, 1427 Hawthorne, Houston, TX 77006, USA

Received 21 November 2002; accepted 18 December 2002.

Abstract 

Oral Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with hairy leukoplakia and possibly other oral diseases. Many studies of oral EBV infection utilize surgical specimens. This study tested a non-invasive brush biopsy technique as an alternative to surgical biopsy to study oral EBV infection and disease. Paired, same-site, samples of tongue epithelium were obtained from research subjects, first by brush and then by surgical biopsy. Brush cells and surgical specimens were fixed and prepared for histologic sectioning and/or processed for nucleic acid extraction. Brush cell pellet sections proved equivalent to surgical specimen tissue sections for hairy leukoplakia diagnosis by routine histologic staining and EBV immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridization. Amplification of EBV sequences demonstrated superiority of the brush cells over surgical specimens for both sensitivity (90% vs. 73%) and negative predictive value (93% vs. 82%). This non-invasive brush biopsy technique should facilitate larger, prospective studies of oral EBV infection and pathogenesis.

Keywords:  Epstein–Barr virus, Oral epithelium, Oral hairy leukoplakia, Oral cancer, Human immunodeficiency virus

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☆ This work was presented in part at the Tenth Biennial Meeting of the International Association for Research on Epstein–Barr Virus and Associated Diseases, Cairns, Australia, July 2002. Informed consent was obtained from each research subject participating in this research. The human experimentation guidelines of each participating institution were followed in the conduct of this research.

PII: S1368-8375(03)00002-2

doi:10.1016/S1368-8375(03)00002-2

Oral Oncology
Volume 39, Issue 5 , Pages 436-444, July 2003

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